before we was not able to produce thin/nice/smart graphics and programmers was always looking to a way to improve them, now that we can easily do that they tend to make the best to reproduce old-look graphics, and ? lot of people (as me) enjoy such graphism ... nostalgia is facinating

before we was not able to produce thin/nice/smart graphics and programmers was always looking to a way to improve them, now that we can easily do that they tend to make the best to reproduce old-look graphics, and ? lot of people (as me) enjoy such graphism ... nostalgia is facinating

I totally agree. I think it's the uncanny valley all over again. People are spending millions of dollars to go that extra mile to get past the trough of the valley and get very very close to lifelike, whereas if you just stay on the other end of the spectrum you have something just as good, if not better. Being unique does wonders.

I'd like to see someone try to make a Minecraft clone, but where you have to use SPHERES instead of cubes, and there must be physics/gravity. I think that would be fun, or at least challenging I can imagine the programmer being swarmed by frustrated builders.

I'd like to see someone try to make a Minecraft clone, but where you have to use SPHERES instead of cubes, and there must be physics/gravity. I think that would be fun, or at least challenging I can imagine the programmer being swarmed by frustrated builders.

The same can be said about blocks. As long as you keep the spheres static, it scales really good

Oh, and Markus, where are the verlet ropes ?

Well it's not like he has cubes bouncing down the hillside - one object gets destroyed at a time, and when you build a cube on top of another there is no physics simulation whatsoever, it just needs to be on top of another.

Sounds like Appel was talking about a live physics simulation where you need to pile spheres on top of each other and they'll roll away, etc.

So yeah, all I meant was that it didn't sound like Appel was talking about a static situation. :-)

FADE TO:INTERIOR, UNFINISHED UNDERWATER DOMEOccasional splashing sounds punctuate the total silence.Long shot. Pan across as a man is placing glass cubes on top of each other, close on a Creeper silently entering the dome.MAN: Phew, I think I've got just enough glass to actually fini (gets cut off by:)CREEPER: SSSSSsssssss..

SMASH CUT TO:EXTERIOR, LAKESIDEThe sun is setting in the distance.Suddenly lots of bubbles rise up from the bottom of the lake.A sheep bleats, then walks into the scene. It stops to graze.

I don't think he has to worry about money the next decades, he is not far away from making 1M per month (just double today's sales, and when multiplayer is working it is more likely to be 10x instead 2x)

Erm 1M each month? 1M means 1 million, right? When the counter is true he sold minecraft 39,392 times. Each item costs 9.95 EUR. So that's "only" 391,950.40 EUR in total, around $495,000. But you have to subtract all transaction fees and taxes. In the end you get only ~50%.

I said he is not far away from making 1M. You have to take todays numbers into account, not the numbers up to yesterday. Numbers will rise in future, not fall. He nearly trippled his sales over the last days, so it is more than likely that sales will rise. If the sales double again (1557 sales last 24h) it scratches the 1M. And when the price will double (to 20 euros) and maybe in future the game will be available on Steam my statement is correct. Transaction fees are 10% I think. When you talk about how much someone earns it normally means before taxes, not after.

What do you do when your game is a huge success?How do you deal with it, on many levels, e.g. business level and personal level.What are the next natural steps to take? Build up a game studio? Continue your life and day job as normal? Quit working and go live on a golf court?

I'm pretty sure Markus is thinking carefully what he wants to do with his success, build on it or live on it? Myself, I would not like to sit at home all day, I like interaction with other people with similar skills as myself. I would miss the brain-storming too much, the cooperation. I would probably create a 3-4 person game studio. But that depends on a lot of factors of course, such as if the income can sustain such a studio and provide you with a financial stability.

But that depends on a lot of factors of course, such as if the income can sustain such a studio and provide you with a financial stability

And you've got to figure out things each person can do that actually makes them worth their price. That's a task in itself when you've made such a successful game all by your lonesome. Similarly, you'll be used to doing whatever you want with gameplay, design, etc., once you add other people you've got to make sure you mesh creatively or you'll find yourself in a big hole of constantly being frustrated.

Yeah, I am thinking a lot about what to do. A small game studio would be very nice in the long run, but for now I kind of enjoy being my own boss.There's a significant lack of social interaction during the weekdays, though.. I'm sure I'll get extremely sick of it eventually.

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